1994: Vegetable farmers strike back

Chapter 150 New Vegetable Variety Selection
Ao Deliang was the least noticeable of the three group leaders. He was short and not strong, taciturn, and did not know how to flatter. He always followed behind Ao Dehai and Qi Yongfeng, nodding his head.

"Hmm," "Okay," "I understand," and "Okay" are the words he uses most often.

If he had read Romance of the Three Kingdoms, he might add another comment: "Me too."

Chen Jiazhi has no doubt about his ability to grow vegetables; Guizhou vegetable growers have always had a good reputation in this regard.

I'm just quite worried about his management skills. He can manage a few acres of land on his own, but as the land expands, communication with the workers becomes especially important.

But after carefully examining the field in the morning and reflecting on his behavior over the past period, I discovered one of Ao Deliang's traits: obsessive-compulsive disorder.

Or rather, striving for perfection.

For example, when it comes to leveling the land with ropes, Chen Jiazhi's habitual method is to use a hoe and rely on his sense of touch to level the land, which also ensures that the furrows are straight and deep enough.

However, for beginners, such as Xiaoxia and Huangshan who assist Ao Deliang, it is difficult to ensure that the furrows are straight, especially since the furrows also need to have a certain depth and the depth must be consistent.

If the furrows are not deep enough and are not level or straight, when heavy rains cause flooding, the water will drain slowly and overflow the furrows, causing significant damage.

Ao Deliang's method wasn't based on words, but rather on pulling a rope, using a shovel to dig soil, and then using a hoe to rake the ground.
Let alone Xiaoxia and Huangshan, even if you called Yilong over, he could do it quite well using this method.

The speed is not slow either.

Furthermore, it's normal to have some weeds in the vegetable fields and along the roadside, but you can't see any in Ao Deliang's fields. The cowpea fields are also very clean, and the vegetable heads left after harvesting kale and mustard greens are pulled out immediately.

Chen Jiazhi was quite pleased to find that this was a meticulous and efficient vegetable worker.

After arranging the work, Li Xiu also brought out a small bowl of pink bitter melons, which was even smaller than yesterday, with only five or six bitter melons.

There aren't many bitter melons left.

"Well, don't bother with the really small ones, since we're saving them for the seeds."

"I know."

The two walked back. There were no tall buildings around the vegetable field. Clouds rolled across the sky. Occasionally, scattered vegetable seeds sprouted and took root, blooming into golden-yellow flowers that attracted butterflies and bees.

Black and white dogs like to pounce, but they can't catch them.

After arriving at the dam area, Li Xiu prepared to collect bitter gourd seeds and urged Chen Jiazhi to hurry up and learn to drive.

Chen Jiazhi pushed his bicycle out, wearing a straw hat on his head.

"Don't save me lunch, okay? I need to go find some seeds; I'll plant a couple more varieties later."

Li Xiu looked up and said, "Then come back early. Or you can rest for another day and go tomorrow."

"No need, I slept quite a bit yesterday and this morning. I'm leaving now. Just stay home and don't wander around. Call your second sister if you need anything."

After giving a few instructions, Chen Jiazhi stepped onto the left pedal with his left foot and, thinking himself stylish, made a semi-circle in the air with his right leg, keeping it perfectly straight.

Li Xiu laughed and scolded, "Show-off!"

...

Chen Jiazhi arrived at the driving school before 8 a.m., but the other students had already been practicing for a while.

Arriving early was useless; Coach Zhang wouldn't let him practice driving. In his words, "Just wait for the practical exam."

He passed the theory test easily, but there are still three more tests to go: practical test, road test, and mechanical knowledge test.

Coach Zhang's use of the word "wait" is very clever.

It wasn't specified how long it would take.

So when Chen Jiazhi came today, he brought a yellow oil paper bag, and you couldn't tell what was inside from the outside.

After arriving at the venue, Chen Jiazhi waited for a while before walking over to Coach Zhang, who was hiding under a tree for shade.

"Coach, I brought you some local specialties."

Coach Zhang took the bag and saw two red and white hard-pack Marlboro cigarettes. He immediately smiled.

"Sure, Xiao Chen, you're very generous. Get ready, we have two exams next Monday and Friday. We'll practice a few more times later, and try to pass on the first try next week, no problem, right?"

"no problem."

So waiting really meant waiting for him to give me a gift, but it doesn't matter, as long as I can get my driver's license sooner.

A while later, the training vehicle, Jiefang CA141, drove up. Instructor Zhang signaled to stop so that someone could take over. A young man of about twenty-two or twenty-three years old got out of the vehicle.

"coming?"

"Yeah, I have an exam coming up, let's practice a couple of rounds." Chen Jiazhi greeted the young man.

"I'll sit in the passenger seat and see how you drive."

"Okay."

The two had only met a few times and hadn't talked much, but the young man had been learning to drive longer than Chen Jiazhi, yet he wasn't very skilled at it, and today only the two of them were practicing driving.

I climbed into the car. It had three hard benches, a steering wheel as big as a washbasin, an iron gear shifter, and bamboo mats on the seats to keep it cool.

There is no air conditioning in the driver's cab. It's okay in the morning, but a little later, it feels like being in a sauna.

After starting the engine, Chen Jiazhi smoothly went through the process. Since there was no power steering, he sometimes had to swing his arms with all his might, and sweat streamed down his face. Fortunately, the first time went smoothly, and he passed the test perfectly.

The young man sitting next to him looked on with envy.

"Brother, what do you do? You look skinny, but you've got some strength in your hands!"

"I grow vegetables, I'm a vegetable farmer."

Chen Jiazhi smiled. Actually, his strength had also increased significantly in the past two or three months.

The young man was somewhat surprised; even vegetable farmers were learning to drive big trucks?

"Are you learning to drive not planning to grow vegetables?"

"Learning to drive and growing vegetables don't conflict, right? What do you do for a living?"

Chen Jiazhi smiled and started practicing a second time. He wasn't going very fast, so he could chat for a bit while he was at it.

"Laid off, unemployed youth."

The young man shook his head, a little melancholy: "That's why my family made me learn to drive, planning to buy a car and run a transport business in the future."

"Then your family is quite well-off."

"Sigh, it's not that easy. I have a relative who works at a bank, and my parents are planning to mortgage their company-owned apartment to buy a car. They'll have to make monthly payments, and just thinking about it puts a lot of pressure on them!"

"Don't worry, you can definitely make money running a transport business. Your family has foresight!"

The two chatted casually, with Chen Jiazhi occasionally sharing his experience. He passed the second practice session perfectly. The young man sincerely exclaimed, "Brother, you're really awesome! I haven't seen you practice much, and you're already driving so skillfully. When I drive, could you point out any mistakes?"

"can."

The two switched places again. As the weather got warmer, Coach Zhang showed no intention of getting in the car and let the two practice on their own.

The young man sat upright, his hands gripping the steering wheel tightly, sweat streaming down his face.

"Relax, wipe your sweat~"

"Ah."

The young man drove quite well, though slowly, and at most only grazed the poles, clearly having practiced many times.

Chen Jiazhi didn't teach haphazardly; he simply pointed out some mistakes and explained how to pass the exam.

After another person practiced two laps, the sun came out and the car got hotter and hotter, so Coach Zhang called a halt to the two people practicing.

Chen Jiazhi also learned the young man's name: Wang Bin.

"Brother Chen, come on, I'll treat you to an iced soda."

"Okay."

After turning off the engine, parking the car, and removing the key, Wang Bin went to the convenience store and bought three bottles of iced soda.

He first gave Coach Zhang a bottle, and then went to the tree next to the bicycle shed to give Chen Jiazhi a bottle of iced cola.

On a hot day, a sip of this will make you feel refreshed and cool to the core.

After taking a big gulp, Chen Jiazhi asked, "Wang Bin, do you have connections in the transportation industry? Have you considered transporting vegetables?"

"vegetable?"

Wang Bin paused for a moment, then laughed and said, "Sure, I have some connections at home to help me find a way, but I certainly don't mind making more money, right?"

Chen Jiazhi smiled and said, "Then leave me your contact information. I might need to contact you again in the future."

"Wait a minute, Brother Chen, I'll go to the convenience store to write it!"

A few minutes later, Chen Jiazhi received a note written by Wang Bin, which contained an address and phone number.

"Brother Chen, if you need to find me, call this number. It's downstairs from my house. Just tell him you're looking for Wang Bin."

"it is good."

Chen Jiazhi folded the note and put it in his pocket.

"I'm leaving now. I have something else to do."

"Are you coming to practice driving again tomorrow, Brother Chen?"

"I won't come this weekend. You can come this weekend too, and we can come together then."

"Then it's a deal."

Chen Jiazhi put on his straw hat, got on his bike, waved, and drove off.

After passing through streets of all sizes, we arrived at Dalong Street in Shiqiao, where there is a seed wholesale street and the county seed company's direct-sale store is located.

The seed industry has not yet undergone reform, is still dominated by state-owned enterprises, and suffers from severe local protectionism.

The distribution of seeds within counties is very limited.

However, Panyu has a strong trade atmosphere and a large number of overseas Chinese, which has put it at the forefront of seed imports.

However, some imported seeds require foreign exchange certificates, such as broccoli seeds intended for export.

However, some do not require foreign exchange certificates.

Chen Jiazhi carefully walked around the storefront two or three times and made a good purchase.

For example, Italian lettuce is still a novelty now, but it will become one of the four major leafy vegetables in Yunnan in the future.

The other three main vegetables are romaine lettuce, bok choy, and Shanghai bok choy.
But in the end, Chen Jiazhi only planned to buy Dali lettuce and Yueyou No. 1 romaine lettuce, which was bred by the Guangdong Academy of Agricultural Sciences.

Shanghai bok choy seeds are also available for sale: Dwarf and Resistant Bok Choy, as the name suggests, grows very short.

But actually, the most beloved green vegetable of Shanghainese throughout history is the dwarf green, which has been the true love of generations of Shanghai aunties in their kitchens.

Unfortunately, the variety is too delicate, not heat-resistant, and not very frost-resistant. Most importantly, it is susceptible to too many pests and diseases, so the greens in summer cannot grow big at all and can only grow into tiny 'chicken feather greens'.

Many people may not know that bok choy is actually the seedling of Shanghai bok choy.

Dwarf Green should be an upgraded version of Dwarf Green. It is resistant to diseases and pests, but not heat-resistant. Chen Jiazhi remembers that the heat-resistant variety is Summer Winter Green.

He planted countless times in Shanghai in his previous life.

They should have been successfully cultivated by now.

The Shanghai Academy of Agricultural Sciences has done an excellent job of researching leafy greens to ensure the food supply for the people of Shanghai. They have developed a wide variety of types, including heat-resistant, cold-resistant, large-leaved, bright green, and purple-leaved varieties.

Bok choy is a very mild vegetable with little flavor, but Shanghainese people can't live without it.

An elderly person in Shanghai often says, "I feel uncomfortable if I don't eat some greens for three days."

This green color is most likely Shanghai green.

At first, Shanghainese couldn't accept the name "Shanghai Qing".

Similar to how Sichuan people eat hot pot with two broths, people who call bok choy "Shanghai bok choy" were once expelled from the "Shanghai" household register.

When Chen Jiazhi was in Shanghai, he often heard the local aunties talking about it in Shanghainese.

"Vegetables are just vegetables, why call them Shanghai bok choy?"

However, as Cantonese chefs brought Chinese cuisine to the world, the name of Shanghai bok choy also spread throughout the world.

Abroad, Shanghai Qing is generally translated as 'Shanghai Qing' or 'Shanghai Baby'.

In any case, we can't do without Shanghai.

Oh, by the way, in Shanghai, choy sum is also called "cai meimei" (菜妹妹), not "qingcai" (青菜).

Chen Jiazhi was a little disappointed that he couldn't find a suitable Shanghai bok choy variety, such as Xia Dongqing.

But with the addition of lettuce and the Yueyou No. 1 romaine lettuce, it was a pretty good harvest.

(End of this chapter)